REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE | KOEBERG
Right: Seen from a distance, Koeberg plays a key role in the country’s power system. Photo credit: Richard van der Spuy/
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V Westinghouse. The installation of the replacement steam generators was originally scheduled to begin in 2018. Three of the steam generators have already been completely built and the remaining three are progressing well, Eskom says. In August last year, US-based Jacobs announced it had been selected to carry out essential engineering modifications in preparation for the installation of the six replacement steam generators. Jacobs is responsible for construction management related to modifications to the secondary steam turbine system. The scope of work includes prefabrication of piping, pipe supports and modification, and piping replacement; installation of on- site scaffolding, rigging and lagging; vessel modifications and strengthening; and replacement of forced air cooler units. About 12.6 tonnes of asbestos roof sheets and 14.1 tonnes of structural steelwork were safely removed ahead of schedule. “This project is vital to maintain the pivotal role of
nuclear power in South Africa’s energy mix,” said Jacobs Energy Security and Technology Senior Vice President Karen Wiemelt, who added: “We also created a new design to install an independent seal cooling system with an independent power supply system.” In March 2017 Canada-based L3 MAPPS won a contract
to upgrade two simulators at Koeberg, taking into account the changes that the new steam generators will make to the plant performance. The two simulators will switch from PC/
Linux simulation servers to PC/Windows-based computers running its latest Orchid simulation environment. The reactor core model will also be replaced. In 2013, L3 MAPPS completed work to upgrade the plant’s original simulator and also commissioned the second full-scope simulator at the site. That work was carried out under contracts signed in 2009. Meanwhile, in July, it was announced that Barkadien had
tendered his resignation and is to join a Canadian nuclear utility after 26 years at Eskom. A previous Koeberg Station Manager, Keith Featherstone, will be acting in the Chief Nuclear Officer role while a replacement for Barkadien is recruited. “As the only nuclear power station in Africa, we have all played a role in keeping the plant safe, and the best place to work. The decision to resign was, therefore, by no means an easy decision,” said Barkadien. In a related development, the current acting Station
General Manager, Nomawethu Mtwebana, is to temporarily join the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) after the completion of the current outage of Unit 2. Mahesh Valaitham, will become Koeberg’s acting General Manager. Returning Koeberg 2 to service will help reduce pressure
on the rest of the Eskom generation fleet and will mitigate the risk of further load shedding over the winter period. The increase in load shedding came on the back of higher levels of unplanned plant breakdowns, which averaged 26% of the fleet in the period ended March 2022. During this period the energy availability factor (EAF) averaged 62%. “Planned maintenance is Eskom’s only weapon to try
Above: Peak energy demands prompted a rethink of Koeberg’s plans Photo credit: Nicole Macheroux-Denault/
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28 | August 2022 |
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bring reliability and predictability to a neglected plant,” Eskom’s Oberholzer said, emphasising the challenge of maintaining its large generation fleet. Indeed, during the summer months around 12% of the total generation capacity had been taken offline for planned maintenance in preparation for the peak demand winter period. The return to service of Koeberg 2 will add 930 MWe of much needed power to the South African Power system, reducing pressure on the transmission grid and limiting the need for load shedding. Until then Eskom has urged South African residents to use electricity “sparingly” especially during the morning and evening peaks, when capacity constraints require it to implement load shedding as a “last resort” to protect the national grid. Despite such measures to conserve power, due to low plant availability from 1 January to 10 May this year, load shedding has been implemented for 32 days, six more than the 26 days of load shedding that occurred during the same period in 2021. ■
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